Coal testing apparatus



April 24, 1934, R, H, JONES 1,955,962

COAL TESTING APPARATUS Filed July 18, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 24, 1934.

R. H. JONES 1,955,962

COAL TESTING APPARATUS Filed July 18 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill 14 (HW' I: gm g gggg $115 fig T16 wvewtoc ,RaZ vk J1 afoizes mum Patented Apr. 24, 1934 1 1 COAL TESTING APPARATUS Ralph E. Jones, Clncinnathbhio; assignor to I Carter Coal Company, Washington, D. C.

Application July 18, 1933, Serial No. 681,040

' '6 Claims. 7 (01.35-16) This invention relates to the testing of coal tion 7 formed of wood or similar material and and has for its primary object to provide a de here. shown as provided with three compartvice in which certain of the properties of coal ments 8, 9 and 10. These compartments are from different sourcesmay be compared under open at their forward ends and receive slidably conditions closely approximating those of the mounted drawers ll, 12 and 13. In the embodiconventional furnace. ment shown the two end drawers 11 and 13 are Another object of the invention resides in re shown as containing samples of coal and hence movably mounting such a device in a cabinet so are provided with sliding covers 14 to confine the that it may be easily transported from place to fume-SQ The middledrawer 12 may b ed place and removed from time to time for demstoring small tools, cotton waste or' the like; or if 65 onstrating purposes. desired may be used for storing a third sample In selling a material such as oal it will be of coal, in which event it would also be provided readily apparent that it is highly desirable to With a cover. I have some means for demonstrating under 2.0- Brackets preferably of metal, a S cu d I tual working conditions the qualities of the parto the four corners of the body 7 a y means 70. 15 ticular coal as compared to other coal, as for inof screws 16 and extend vertically upward therestance a coal which the prospective customer has from- The pp 0f the brackets a e nbeen previously using. An .ocular demonstration turned a indicated by numeral and form the of the comparative volatility of the coals, the suppor for a horizontally dispos d plate A amount of smoke given off, the condition and p 0f laterally Spaced Openings 19 are formed 75 constituents of the materials remaining in the n t e plate d receiVe What y be termed ing drawings, in which,

thilpper end of the case a handle 5 is provided.

grates, etc wo ld of ou be h re efminiature furnaces. 'Each furnace comprises a fective'in convincing a customer than would a Cylindrical sle ve 0 P ov d W h an annular vast amount of printed matter, salesmanship, rib 20 on itsexterior surface to engage the pp D etc. It is to provide a simple and convenient surface of plat 13QaI1d a grate vThe grates, 30- meansfor giving such a demonstration that the which are pref y formed of Chromium W apparatus about to be described was devised. of small mesh, are of substantia y ph ir Other objects and advantages of the invention cal shape and are supported in the upper ends will be. apparent from the following description of sleeves 22. The sleeves are formed with a when taken in connection with the accompany p r l y of o u s 23 at their lower ends which form the means for securing the sleeves to an- Figure 1 is a perspective View of the apparanular plates 24 which are in turn secured in any tus installed in its cabinet, one of the drawers suitable manner to the lower ends of the elebeing shown partly open in dotted outline. ments M Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the ap- Chimneys 25 of glass similar transparent 30' paratus apart from its cabinet, parts being bromaterial are p d to engage Over the sleeves ken away, and 20 and are seated on the annular ribs 20. These Figure 3 is a fragmentary end View thereof. Chimneys t o cou e be raised in order to Referring to the drawings in greater detail the pp y fuel to the grates and for other purposes,

. numeral 1 indicates the body of a case or cabinet and to facilitate this Operation the Chimneys are in which the testing device may be stored when preferably tied together by Spring C ps 6. The not in use, or for the purpose of transportation. Clips may be clamped to the Chimneys by rews The cabinet is provided with a door or closure and are also secured to a This od 2 mountedpon vertically spaced hinges 3, and a is slidably mounted in a socket member 29 fixed lock 4 for securing the door in closed position. At to Plate 13 intermediate the two furnaces, and 1 is prevented from rotating by means of its pin 30 which engages in a slot 31 formed in the socket member. By grapsing the handle 32 on the upper end of rod 28 it will be apparent that the chimneys 25 may be simultaneously raised and lowered and will always be maintained in vertical alignment with their respective furnaces.

Normally disposed within the cabinet 1 is the testing apparatus generally indicated by the numeral 6, and overhanging ledges or cleats 6' are formed on the side walls of the cabinet to engage the lower or base portion of the device and hold the same against movement within the cabinet when the latter is being moved from place On the upper surface of the member '7 metal t m guideways 33 are preferably provided. On these The testing device includes a lower body porguideways are slidably mounted burners such as alcohol burners 34 provided with Wicks 35, and the flanges on the guideways serve to center the burners directly under the respective grates.

A chimney cleaner 36 (Figure 1) is preferably carried in the cabinet 1 and a hook 37 provides a convenient means for supporting the same when not in use.

In the operation of the testing device, the same is first withdrawn entirely from the cabinet and the chimneys 25 then raised or removed. A few lumps of the two specimens of coal which have been previously loaded into the drawers 11 and 13 are removed and placed in the two grates, care being taken to insure that the coal is not mixed While being conveyed from the drawers to the grates. In this connection, it is desirable that the names of the coal in the respective drawers be indicated on the drawers as represented by numeral 36. After the grates are charged with coal the burners 34 are withdrawn and lighted, after which they are slid back into the guide- Ways 33, care being taken to have them engage the rear flange and thereby insure their perfect centering under the grates.

In a very short time the coal in the grates or miniature furnaces will become ignited and the two different grades will at once begin to show their different characteristics. For instance, the volatility of the two coals will immediately be apparent to observers skilled in the art. Likewise the amount of smoke or unconsumed carbon given oif by the two coals will be indicated as it travels up the respective chimneys. Furthermore, after the actual demonstration is completed an examination of the residue in the grates and the conditions of the chimneys Will be a source of considerable interest to the observers in that it will give further indications of the qualities of the two coals.

From the foregoing description and the attached drawings it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have devised an extremely simple and inexpensive apparatus in the form of miniature furnaces whereby different grades of coal may be compared under conditions sub stantially the same as would be encountered in normal operation of a furnace; that the device provides an ocular demonstration of two grades of coal in actual use and thereby affords a comparative estimate of their values; that it is extremely simple in operation, and that it may be manually transported from place to place and set up for operation at a moments notice.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described what I now believe to be the preferred form of the invention, but inasmuch as various minor changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention it is intended that all changes be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the class described including a base, a pair of grates supported above the base, and adapted to receive samples of coals, and a pair of burners disposed below the grates.

2. A device of the class described including a base, a plate spaced above the baseand supported thereby, said plate provided with a pair of openings, grates disposed in said openings, and a pair of burners removably mounted between the base and said grates.

3. A device of the class described including a base, a pair of grates supported above the base, transparent chimneys extending upwardly from said grates, and a pair of burners disposed below the grates.

4. A device of the class described including a base, a pair of grates supported above the base, transparent chimneys extending upwardly from said grates, a vertically movable rod mounted between the chimneys, and means for connecting the chimneys to the rod.

5. A device of the class described including a base, a plate spaced above the base and supported thereby, a pair of grates mounted in the plate, transparent chimneys extending upwardly from the grates, a vertically movable rod supported on the plate between the grates, and clamps carried by the rod and adapted to secure the chimneys thereto.

6. A device of the class described including a base, a plate spaced above the base and sup ported thereby, a pair of grates mounted in the plate, chimneys extending upwardly from the grates, a slotted socket member on the plate, a rod slidably mounted in the socket member, a pin on the rod and extending into said slot, and means for securing the chimneys to the rod.

RALPH H. JONES. 

